Polish – Australian connections

Rosemary Moore

6 czerwca 2016, poniedziałek,
Rosemary Moore

An expat from ‘Down Under’

As an Australian living in Poland, I am often asked what I am doing so far from home, and why I would leave paradise on earth to come to Warsaw. I usually answer that my husband is Polish, my children were born here, and anyway, Warsaw is a great place to live.

Who knew? The untold history of Polish influence and famous Poles in Australia

What people don’t always know is that there is a long history of cultural and economic exchange between my homeland and my newly adopted country, Poland. So sit down, think hard, and see if you can answer this quiz about the little-known facts of Polish-Australian relations.

Quiz Polish-Australian Connections

1.When did the first Poles land on Australian soil?

a) 1799

b) 1845

c) 1696

2. How do you pronounce the Polish surname Strzelecki in Australia, and why is this name important for Australians?

Mt Kosciuszko; Image Credit: www.thenomadicexplorers.com

3. The Polish cyclist Jakub Postrzygacz is known for which of the following things?

a) He was the first Polish cyclist to join an Australian cycling team in the Tour de France.

b) He was the first person to cycle around the entire continent in an anticlockwise direction.

c) He was the first person to cycle the 1900 km desert trail of the Canning Stock Route without a support vehicle.

Jakub Postrzygacz; Image Credit: www.wloczykij.com

4. Approximately how many Australians claimed Polish ancestry in the 2011 census?

a) 170 000

b) 300 000

c) 50 000

5.When was the first book about Australia in Polish published?

a)1900

b)1795

c)1858

6. Which Australian state or territory elected a state premier of Polish extraction in 2015? (bonus point if you know the acronyms too!)

a) NSW

b) QLD

c) Victoria

7. The Polish- Australian professor, Jerzy Zubricki, is known in Australia as:

a) The father of kangaroo farming

b) Father George

c) The father of multiculturalism

8.When did the first Polish film festival take place in Australia?

a)1982

b)1979

c)2012

9. What are some of the things which Australia imports from Poland?

a) pork and potatoes

b) coal and iron ore

c) luxury yachts and veterinary medications

Answers

1.In 1696, on Willem de Vlamingh’s expedition which landed on the west coast, there were 10 citizens of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth.

2 .Strezleki. Strzelecki explored and mapped New South Wales (NSW) and Tasmania. He also discovered and named Australia’s highest mountain, Mt Kosciuszko.

3. c. Canning Stock Route without a support vehicle.

4. a. 170 000

5. c. It was a memoir by the goldrush miner Sewerin Korzeliński.

6. b. Annastacia Palaszczuk is still serving as Queensland’s Premier.

7. c. He is considered one of the most important thinkers and theorists on Australian multiculturalism.

8. c.2012

9. c. luxury yachts and veterinary medications

How did you get on? Did you know your Australian-Polish facts? Do you know any more facts which link our two nations? Let me know via the comments box